It Doesn't Have to be a Great Race to be Dangerous
by Sparrow90
Summary: Eva and Aikka had a fight seven months after the Great Race that ended their friendship. Two years later, and Eva's about to get back on the track. But who knew friendships could be so fickle both on the track, and off?
1. Prolouge

It had only been seven months after Oban when the invitation had arrived.

It had only been seven months after Oban when she got to her see her best friend again.

It had only been eight months after Oban did her friendship with her best friend end.

XX

"You are always getting in the way of my duties! I am a _Prince_, Molly, and I can't have you forgetting that!"

"_Me_? _Me _forgetting it? Who was the one who invited me here in the first place, huh?"

Silence for a moment.

"Fine! You want me out of here, Aikka? Fine. I'm leaving!"

XX

It had only been seven months after Oban when she saw the royal city of Nourasia.

It had only been seven months after Oban when she ran into the arms of her best friend.

It had only been seven months after Oban did she leave those same arms.

XX

"Dad, we are leaving!"

"Eva, wait…what happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it!" she shrieked.

The door slammed.

Sighs.

Sobs.

Broken hearts and broken promises.

XX

It had been two years after her friendship ended did she ever see him again.


	2. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Oban Star-Racers or anything related to it.**

**Okay,this is my first fanfiction in a while, so bear with me guys! But I really do hope you like it! I recently got back into Oban, and it has officially become my new favorite show. Prince Aikka and Molly/Eva hwaiting! (For those of you who don't know Korean or aren't interesting in Korean culture, it means fighting. Like...gambatte, or..."go team"...that's the best English translation I could come up with...I'm sorry)**

**CHAPTER 1: **

"Eva, come on, it's the last lap of the race!" Koji called.

Panicking time. No, no, no, she couldn't miss this! Struggling to keep all four sodas in her arm, Eva grappled for the bowl of popcorn and ran into the living room, where Rick, Stan, and Koji were all waiting for her. She plopped down on the couch and passed out the sodas, eyes locked on the screen.

"Who's winning?" she asked.

"Who do you think?" Rick asked with a confident tone in his voice.

Sure enough, the screen locked on the leader, and there he was. Her dad's latest racer. _She _would've been his latest racer, but the last three years after Oban she had been made to focus on her studies (stupid, stupid school. No wonder she left it in the first place). Eva knew it was just a cover so her dad wouldn't have to see her race again. Oban had left a scar deeper than he cared to admit. But it had done the same to her.

"Drew Vanderbilt is in the lead once again! Definitely a strong comeback after his racer had taken that unfortunate spin back there, don't you agree folks?"

The race track was much wider than the average one. But then again, you had to think about how many Star Racers you were fitting on that track. This was a special race; much more like the ones she had seen in videos, where the racecars were on the ground. It was like that, but with star racers.

"When did he get in the lead?" she asked, popping a few kernels in her mouth.

"Right before you came in," Rick said.

Last few seconds of the race. He was in the lead, he was in the lead…go, go Drew!

She had seen Drew before, and he was a lot like Rick. Tough and determined. Maybe a bit too tough, actually. He didn't really talk around Eva, and his face seemed to be constantly red when she entered the room. It was either he was constantly angry with her, or had a crush. But judging by the way he acted, he probably hated her.

"Go, go, and YES!" Stan screamed.

Drew raced across the finish line, leaving all the other competitors in the dust. They all stood up and hugged each other, high-fiving and, just for the fun of it, throwing popcorn in each other's faces. Eva couldn't help but smile. This was what _real_ friendship was like.

By the time they had all settled down, the interviews had already started. Drew, with a wreath over his neck and a large golden cup in his hands, had a monotone expression on like he always did, but there was happiness in his eyes.

"Well, Drew, how does it feel? This is your seventh win in a row!" said the reporter, and shoved the microphone in Drew's face.

"I owe it all to my manager, I swear." Eva beamed with pride. "If he hadn't come along and helped me, I never would've been able to get this far."

"How about we bring him out now?" asked the reporter.

Don Wei was somehow coerced out and into the view of the camera, where he looked slightly ruffled. But he regained composure, cleared his throat, and began talking.

"Drew really is a fantastic racer, I must say. He might ever become better than Rick one day." This elicited laughs from not only the interviewers and made Don Wei crack a smile at his own joke, but Eva and her friends laughed at Rick's expense as well.

"Eh, this rookie will never be as great as the great Rick Thunderbolt," Rick said confidently, leaning back on the couch. But there was still a smile on his face.

"I definitely feel proud that Drew is my racer. But…I'm afraid my days as his manager are coming to an end."

There was complete silence. The reporters and interviewers waited for an explanation, but none came. Eva exchanged looks with her friends. What? Drew wasn't going to be her dad's racer anymore? How come she hadn't been informed of this? She furrowed her eyebrows. It wasn't like her dad to not consult her when he made a decision. There had been a time when things were different, but now…he told her everything. Or, at least…she thought he did.

"What do you mean, Don Wei?" one of the reporters asked.

"I mean Drew had decided to move on from Wei Racing and onto a new company. I mentioned Rick before because he is going to be his new manager."

They all looked at Rick, eyes wide. He just sat back and got himself comfortable in the cushions. "Just wait for it," he told them, and took a sip of his soda. What, no explanation, She thought, but took his advice and waited. She hated waiting.

"Rick Thunderbolt?" one asked. "He's coming back into the racing business? What happened to him? We have been told a crash rendered him unable to race, but he's coming back as a manger?"

"What is the meaning of this?"

"Where's Rick?"

"Has Drew been informed of this?"

"Of course he has—Drew and Rick made the decision their selves." Don Wei looked taken aback. "And I fully respect it. I am getting old, and Drew is a brash youngster who needs someone experienced in the actual art of racing to help him."

"Then who are you going to be managing?" a reporter asked.

He hesitated for a moment. Eva was on the edge of her seat now. Could it be? Could it really be her time to shine? Oh, she hoped it was. Her dad had been promising her….She was out of school, now. Her 18th birthday was only months away, so that meant she would be able to compete in the adult division soon. Oh, Eva hoped so much that he would be announcing what she thought he was announcing….

"I am going to be the manager of my daughter."

"_YES_!" Eva punched the air and nearly bounced off of the couch. Stan and Koji stared at her in surprise, but Rick just sat back, completely confident. "Yes, yes, _YES_! I get to race!"

"Yes, you do, little mouse," Rick said. "Took a while to convince your dad, but I eventually got through to him."

Her eyes widened. "_You _convinced him?" she asked.

He nodded.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she screamed, jumping up and down.

She was going to get to race! She was going to _get to race_! Oh, sweet Avatar of Oban….she was going to race.

Then it hit her.

_She was going to get to be in a Star Racer_.

Eva nearly fainted.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Alright, Eva. Take it slow. This is your first time in a real Star Racer, so…just don't hurt yourself, alright?"

She rolled her eyes. Dads could be so overprotective. "I'll be fine, Dad. I've got mom's helmet," she said, knocking her hand against the helmet.

It had been the only thing salvaged from the crash. She had found it within the first month of being back with her dad. Sure, it was singed a bit in places, but it still had its charm. The Goggles were no more (those didn't fit her anymore, so she had given them to the neighbor), but that didn't matter. She had her mother's helmet now.

"Eva," her dad warned.

Eh, it was worth a shot. Eva put on the helmet, reached forward and closed her hands around the controls. They were so much…different. Of course, last time she had piloted a Star Racer, there was a rocket-seat instead of the standard seat. She had grown in the last few years, and now, finally, her feet touched the foot pedals. It was kind of amazing.

"Okay, Eva. You can do this," she told herself. "Here we go, baby."

She raised the Star Racer up just a bit. Automatically she was a bit disorientated, but she was able to even out the racer.

"Alright, okay, I got this…." She was a bit rusty at this kind of thing, but she could remember quickly….she hoped.

"Now, Eva, just go slow. You haven't actually raced a Star Racer with the right pilot seat, so—"

Eva punched the throttle on full, and soon she was whizzing through the air. Ha! She got this! Oh, she _so _got this!

"Eva!" her dad screamed into the receiver.

She saw his face come up on the screen as she was making the turn. It was a bit wobbly with different controls, but a racer was a racer. Eva smiled. "Don't worry, I got this!" she told him, making the next curve.

"Eva, stop this instance!" he screamed at her.

She pressed a button and his face disappeared. This was her time to shine. Three years without a racer and he expected her to just _stop_? Yeah, right! Now it was time for the tricks. Now this was going to be interesting.

"Woohoo!" she screamed as she flipped through the air.

She put on the thrusters and she soared to a nice coasting speed. Oh, she forgot how much fun it was to ride a Star Racer. Eva smiled as she made two more laps in quick time. Sure, she was racing in a circle over and over, but at least there was no Crog randomly coming out to beat her racer to a pulp. And no water, or boulders, or giant balls of energy floating in the sky. Oh, how different it was on Earth. But at least there was a lesser chance of dying.

"Eva, get out of there now!" It was her dad again. Eva frowned. Somehow he had figured out how to override the controls.

"It's fine, Dad!" she said.

"Eva, please!"

She slowed a little. There was pleading in his voice. She hated it when he pleaded. She sighed, but slowly came to a stop near the stands her dad was sitting in. She opened the cockpit reluctantly. "Happy?" she asked, frowning. Eva climbed down the ladder and opened the door to let her out. "I was just having some fun, that's all."

"Eva, it's been three years since you've piloted. You could've hurt yourself!" he said.

Rolling her eyes, she slipped her helmet off and put it under her arm. "But I didn't. Now, could you just let me—"

"Don Wei, is that you?"

They both turned around, and Eva immediately frowned. Oh, lucky her. Coming towards them was Eva's greatest enemy. He went to an all-boy's boarding school (Reason number one why she hated him), and he was about as cocky as you could get. Of course, it didn't help that he was Number One in the youth division of Star Racing. He had thick, luscious blonde hair that fell in curls and brown eyes that looked like chocolate. He looked like a girl.

Name? Hugo.

Occupation? Asshole.

"What are _you _doing here, Hugo?" she demanded, putting her other hand on her hip.

"Oh, hello Eva. I didn't see you there." He gave her a sickly sweet smile that just about made her vomit. "I was actually going to talk to Don Wei."

"Yes, what is it?" her dad asked, coming forward, back to being all-business.

"I was going to ask who your new racer was. I didn't know you had a _daughter_. I must know, really," he said.

Silence. Eva looked between the two men…well, if Hugo could be considered a man. He was more like a brat in her eyes. But that wasn't the point. She watched as they stared at each other, and finally Don Wei broke the contact and looked at her. He hadn't actually announced her name to the public yet—it was supposed to be a surprise. But how was he supposed to lie when his racer was standing right next to him?

"This is my daughter. I believe you already know her? Eva?" he put a protective arm around her shoulder.

Hugo's eyes widened. "_Eva_?"

Then…he burst out laughing. Eva immediately wanted to punch him right where it hurt, but her father tightened his grip on her arm, and she knew that was a sign. It would be bad if it ever got out that a pilot who hadn't even made her debut yet was getting into fights. Especially ones with the champion.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Hugo laughed, wiping away tears of laughter and holding his stomach. "She can't race! She's never raced in her life!"

"How do you know?" she demanded.

"How do I _know_?" he echoed, looking up at her with a smirk.

"Yeah! I could be the greatest racer in the entire universe!" Hey, it was true. She had beaten the best of the best! She had beaten the Crogs, for Avatar's sake! Multiple times!

"You? The greatest racer? We'll see about that," he said, a confident smirk on his face.

"I'll kick your sorry ass off of that throne of yours, you little brat!" she hissed through her teeth.

"Eva!" her dad scolded.

Hugo just laughed even more. He walked away, still laughing. When he finally turned around he looked at Eva with an amused eye. "Let's just see how you'll fare in the Contract of Peoples Race! You'll get squashed like a bug!"

The Contract of the Peoples Race? Her eyebrows furrowed. What was that?

"Eva, go get dressed. We should probably get home," her dad told her.

She sighed, but she knew it was true. The sun was setting, and the race track wasn't going to be open forever. With the 'Contract of the Peoples Race' still on her mind, she walked dejectedly to the locker rooms. Don Wei watched his daughter leave, frowning. She had picked a fight with the youth champion. He had heard stories about him, most of which were probably true. That kid was even expected to be the champion in the adult division when he was old enough.

"Oh, Eva," he said, watching her retreating figure. "You've made a bad adversary."

**END**

**So, how'd you like it? Pretty good, right? ^_^ As I said, my skills are still a little rusty, but I'm gonna get back into the groove of things. Stay tuned and make sure to review! I always welcome feedback and, of course, lots of compliments ;)**


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 3:**

"Prince Aikka! Prince Aikka, where are you?"

He sighed, looking up into the night sky. The roof was always a comfortable place to escape to, and besides, no one found him for hours. It was high above the rest of the palace, and it was comfortable up there on nice nights. He was always back in his room by the time they decided to check his room again anyway, sitting on his bed, usually reading.

Aikka sighed. Nourasia's thee moons shined down on him and the breeze blew gently, but his head was still filled with thoughts that would just not go away. The night was beautiful, the stars shimmering beautifully. They were like big glowing blimps in his sky, shining like his beautiful earth princess.

And there he went again. For about the thousandth time that night, he thought about Molly. Aikka wondered what type of stars she would be seeing at the moment. They would most certainly be different than his, but how different?

"Prince _A-A-A-Aikka!"_

It was one of the maids. She was new; he had seen her come in two weeks before from his spot on the rooftop, and she most certainly was a shrieking one. And not only that, but she looked in places no one else looked. He had been nearly caught three times in the last week. Aikka frowned and stood up.

"D'dar," he called quietly into the night.

The flapping of delicate wings announced the arrival of his blue beetle. Oh, how he loved his D'dar. She was certainly a trustworthy and noble beast, he knew. Hoping onto the back of D'dar, he swung his bow over his shoulder and flew out into the night.

The Prince would not be out too long. He knew that his parents would soon be alerted of his disappearance, and that would stir up some trouble. But now was not the time to worry about such things. Flying out, out into the night, he looked over his holy city of Dol, so beautiful and dazzling in the night. The lanterns were lit and the markets were bustling. Night was always the best time for the city. In the ground were lines and figures, carved red into the surface of his planet. At night they glowed brilliantly, showing off to the universe the beauty of Nourasia. It was truly the best place to be.

When he had brought Molly—no, he must start calling her Eva, as that was her true name—she had been so astounded at the sights he was sure she would want to stay forever. But he had made mistakes, such foolish mistakes, and their friendship had been torn by the sting of harsh words. The Prince always hoped for reconciliation, but it never seemed to come.

"Prince, what are you doing out here?" It was Canaan.

He looked. Without knowing it, Prince Aikka had flown slightly beyond the borders of the holy city! G'dar landed on the glimmering ground softly like a Nourasian cat. Aikka's eyes were wide. Although he had not meant specifically to come here, the familiar company was welcome. Aikka jumped off the back of his mount and immediately went into a deep bow for his teacher.

"I seek peace here," he said.

"Very well. If you would like, Prince, the gardens are certainly most beautiful tonight. Please, consolidate yourself there."

Aikka bowed deeply yet again and made his way back behind Canaan's house. It was…smaller than he was accustomed to, even smaller than the hangar on Alwas, but he did not mind it that much. Walking into the gardens, he remembered being here with Mol—Eva. It had been a beautiful night that time, and he had described every type of plant and flower there was in Canaan's garden. He had been so excited, but it had bored Eva. Well, he did not expect his Earth Princess to have an interest, but he had gotten so carried away, he had forgotten about her interests.

"Prince, what is bothering you? It is not usual for you to be making visits to my humble dwelling." Canaan appeared from behind his house, looking worried yet stern.

"Actually, it appears I came here unintentionally. I suppose I needed something to console me, and this was where my heart led me," he said, not sure how to describe his thought process.

Canaan frowned. "It is good to let your heart led you, Prince, but be careful. Sometimes your heart can lead you to places you might not want to go." It was more of Canaan's wise advice. Aikka nodded, but he was not particularly in the mood for advice.

"I understand," he said.

He walked among the beautiful flowers, his tanned hands lightly fluttering along each one of them. How he wished Eva could be there with him at that moment. If they had still been friends, he would not have needed to be consoled by a garden. He could have been consoled by the words of his friend. His most trustworthy friend. His most honorable friend.

"You are thinking of the earth girl, are you not?"

The question caught him off guard. He stopped, his fingers resting on a bright blue and silver flower. He had given that same flower to Eva once. It meant, 'you are most trustworthy' in the Nourasian language of the flowers.

"Yes, yes I am," he said, his words dampened by sadness.

His mind had not only been consumed by thoughts of her that night, but many nights before. The Nourasians and the Earthlings had made a Treaty less than a month ago, which made the possibility of him seeing her rise higher than ever before. He had wondered of what he would say to her, how she would respond, how much it would hurt when she slapped him…so many things. He would then call himself silly for believing they would ever meet again. Then he would continue daydreaming.

"Prince, although I am not in favor of your…relationship with this girl, your mother does, and I am going to say this on behalf of your mother…." Canaan paused.

Aikka turned around when Canaan did not speak for a long while. Canaan was staring at the flowers, a mixed, confusing expression on his face. Aikka could see Canaan was conflicted on telling Aikka of his knowledge.

"Please, tell me," he urged.

"With the signing of the Treaty, the earthlings have proposed a race. A bit of…friendly competition. Something to strengthen the ties between our two races," Canaan said. "And it appears you have been volunteered by the people to participate in the race. It is…possible that she might be racing there."

His eyes widened, and his ears perked up. What? There was a possibility that he could meet his Earth Princess again? The chances of him meeting her soared higher than before. What would he do? Never faced before with the actually possibility of their meeting, the Prince was rendered speechless.

"Do you speak the truth, Canaan?" he whispered.

"I do."

He raised his head, a smile on his face. "Well then, there is no time to waste!" he announced. "G'dar and I must ready ourselves—we can certainly not lose to our little Earth Princess!"

Running as fast as he could, Aikka hopped onto the back of G'dar and they flew up into the sky. He would most definitely need to ready himself…archery practice, maybe even lessons…he would definitely need to fly G'dar more often….oh, so many things to do….

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Prince, Prince, how does it feel to be on earth?"

"Prince, can we have an interview with you?"

"Is it strange, now that the atmosphere is different?"

"Prince, smile!"

He was suddenly bombarded by a flashing light. Aikka stumbled back. What were these strange earth contraptions? He fell back into the arms of Canaan, who caught him by the shoulders. Canaan helped him steady himself. Aikka tugged on his suit and straightened his tie. His father had wanted him to be a proper ambassador and arrive in Nourasian clothing, but his mother had convinced his father to let him arrive in earth clothing, saying 'he'd look so handsome in those earth suits!'. Naturally, his father had melted at his mother's sweet words and ordered him to wear a suit.

So there he was, stepping out of a strange earth ship, surrounded by a sea of earthlings asking him a million questons. He had never seen so many humans before, but they all looked the same to him. He had been able to distinguish the earth team easily, but they were all so different! These annoying, chatter-box humans never seemed to silence!

"Please, the Prince is tired. No questions, no pictures," Canaan said, shielding Aikka from the harsh lights.

Although he had brushed up on his earth customs before he had come, it seemed Canaan had studied a bit more. He hadn't recognized the flashing machines at first, but when Canaan mentioned the pictures he suddenly realized what they were. Aikka wanted to take a closer look at the strange things that made images of frozen moments of time, but he was pushed past by the other arriving competitors from his planet.

"Hello, and welcome to earth!" welcomed a nearly-bald man, his arms out-stretched and smiling a little bit too much.

Aikka bowed deeply, recognizing the earth leader. "I am pleased to make your acquaintance, sir. I do hope our afflictions with your planet go on for many millenniums," he said, and when he stood up he was surprised to see the president was taken aback. Was this type of greeting not normal on this planet?

"Well, you are a very cordial young man!" he said, and shook Aikka's hand.

The man's hand was rough but had a firm grip, Aikka noticed. He supposed this was the true earth greeting. He had learned from his experience that earthlings were somewhat of a…fighting people, so he supposed this was a way to judge someone's strength. Aikka probably didn't seem like much of a threat, with his soft, small hands, but he had learned on his planet that size was not the judge of someone's power. The earthling proof had been in their pilot.

"Thank you very much," he said, shaking the man's hand.

"Now, if you will follow me, I will take you to where you will be staying," he said, and gestured for Aikka and the rest of the competitors to follow him.

Aikka followed closely behind the man, and when he was sure no one was listening (Canaan didn't count—there was no way he could keep any words he spoke from his teacher), he asked the man a very important question.

"Excuse me," he said.

The man turned around, yet kept on walking. "Yes?"

"I was wondering if the earth pilot from Oban, Eva Wei, was going to be competing in the race," he whispered.

The man frowned. "There has been no word from any of the former earth team members since the Great Race ended, Prince Aikka," he said. "I cannot be sure if they will be competing, I'm sorry."

Aikka sighed and straightened. So…his earth princess was not going to be there? He frowned and looked at the ground. His chances of ever apologizing were dwindling down, and fast.

"Prince, do not fear. There still is a chance they have not been informed of the race. It appears only Nourasia has been told of the upcoming race," Canaan informed him.

"Ah, yes, about that!" the man had apparently overheard them talking. "So sorry. We are actually going to be making the official announcement to the planet tomorrow! There are some racers who know about the race, but I suppose not everyone!"

He breathed a sigh of relief. There still was a chance that his beautiful earth princess did not know. The sun became brighter, much brighter. Oh, it was lovely to be on the same planet as her once again. He had heard of lovers being separated by cities, but of friends being separated by solar systems? He found himself laughing at the thought. Aikka knew no other story.

"What is it, prince?" Canaan asked.

"Oh, nothing. Just…thinking."


	4. Chapter 3

***Okay, third chapter, up, as you can see. Hope you guys like it ^_^ I had this BURST inspiration this afternoon for the entire thing, and have gotten pieces of the plot together throughout the day. So, I hope you guys keep reading!***

**Disclaimer: I do not own Oban Star Racers**

**Chapter 3: Friends Reunions Aren't Always Happy**

"Molly…hey, molly…."

"Uh…what?" she demanded, trying to swat away the voice. "Five more minutes…just five more minutes dad."

"Since when did you mistake my voice for your dad's?" asked the voice with a chuckle.

She knew that voice! Her eyes burst open, and there he was. It was Jordan! She rubbed her eyes to determine if she was seeing things, but after a few good rubs and lots of blinking, he didn't go away. Jordan laughed.

"No, molly—or should I say, Eva—I am not a hallucination. Although you still are sleeping," he said. "See? Things are not what they seem in dreams, but I do have to say they are unusually solid."

Jordan held out his palm, and very reluctantly Eva reached forward with her fingers. Her eyes widened when she found that her fingers didn't go through. They stayed firmly on his coarse, war ridden palm. She looked into his dark eyes and saw he was smiling.

"Told you," he whispered. "And look at this, it's even more amazing than that."

He gestured with his head to his side, and she looked out. Before, she had only been focusing on Jordan. But now she saw that there was so much more in her dream than just him. She was in Alwas! She was on the hill she had once watched the races from; it overlooked both the starting stadium and the sea. The breeze was blowing and the sun was starting to set—it was as if she really was back on Alwas.

"Isn't it beautiful? Took me a while to get everything right, but I got it," he said, and flashed her a loving smile.

It was like an open invitation. She leapt forward into Jordan's arms and buried her face into his chest to keep him from seeing her near-tear state. "How come you haven't visited before?" she asked.

After a moment of shock Jordan wrapped his arms around her back, his face still red. "Being the avatar is a busy job, Eva. I only just got the hang of being able to take a corporeal form, and the universe is just so…_big_," he said. He sounded like a little kid who had just grasped the idea that there was a world beyond his front door. She smiled at the thought—Jordan, a little kid lost in his big role.

"How big?" she asked, just to keep him talking.

"Very big," he said with a sigh. "Of course, a lot of it is just dark matter. But the wonders of the universe are certainly very cool. It'll take me a while to see them all."

Eva sighed. "I miss you, Jordan," she said unexpectedly. "It feels like the earth team is incomplete without you."

He laughed. "It kind of is, I guess," he said. "A team without its gunner is _nothing_!"

They both laughed, but it was a different kind of laugh: they were both surprised Jordan could still crack a joke! Finally Eva broke away from Jordan and looked at him. It was like the battle with Canaletto had never happened. He looked perfectly fine—all healthy and fit.

"So," he asked, raising an eyebrow. "How's it going with the _Prince_?"

Almost instantly her face filled up with red. "Uh…uh…uh," was all she managed to get out. She looked everywhere but him, trying to get a hold of her words. But they just seemed to keep on escaping from her grasp.

"Don't worry, you don't have to explain—I saw," he said. "Bit of an ugly argument there."

She turned away, bringing her knees up to her chin and looking out at the water. "He was being a jerk."

"Well, you're going to have to deal with him again soon, so prepare yourself."

She looked over at him, eyes wide. "Wait, what?"

"Hmm…should I tell you?" Jordan looked up as if he was contemplating deeply.

"Yes!" she nearly screamed.

Jordan smirked. "Okay. Well, it turns out your _dear prince_ will be coming to Earth—actually, he arrived yesterday. Sorry, lost track of time." Eva's eyes grew dark. "Apparently last month Nourasia and Earth made a treaty. They're celebrating it with a race."

A name suddenly flashed before Eva's mind. "Is it called…Contract of the Peoples Race?" she asked wearily.

He nodded. "That's the one."

Hugo's participating in that, she thought. She could just imagine Hugo racing Aikka, the giant blue beetle against the golden star-racer Hugo loved and cherished. Hugo would think it would be an easy race; easy to beat a Nourasian. A peace-loving race they were, but easy-going losers they weren't. Hugo was going to be in for a surprise.

"What's with the smirk?" Jordan asked.

Eva smiled brightly. "Oh, nothing," she said, crossing her legs and rocking back and forth. "It's nothing."

Jordan smiled. "So, are you going to enter?" he asked.

The smile disappeared from her lips, and she stopped rocking. "I don't know," she said seriously, staring forward at the crumbling arena. "But something tells me I won't have a choice."

"You always have a choice, Eva," Jordan said, narrowing his eyes.

"Maybe."

She was about to say something more when the world suddenly started shaking. Both Eva and Jordan were shook by this unexpected event, and Eva tried to hang onto the grass to get her bearings straight. It felt like an earthquake, but even the clouds were shaking.

"Eva, wake up, we're here!" she heard her dad say, but his voice was distorted, as if she was hearing it from the inside of a glass sphere.

"I guess that's your cue," Jordan said sadly.

"I guess it is."

Jordan leaned forward and kissed her forehead. "Good luck," he whispered, his breath warm on her skin.

She was about to ask why she needed luck, but all of a sudden blinding light started to flood into her dream like a tsunami. Jordan disappeared into the light, and although she reached out he seemed to go farther and farther away from her….

"Eva, come on, wake up!" Don Wei said.

She opened her eyes, and there was her dad, looking over at her from the driver's seat. "Huh?" she asked, her mind still feeling like she was in the dream.

"The rest of the team is out, come on," he said, smiling gently at her.

Then she realized where she was—Eva was at a star-racer racetrack. The night before her dad had suggested they go to a big race so Eva could really see what the big leagues were like. She had readily agreed. It appeared she had fallen asleep on the two-hour drive to the racetrack.

"Right," she told herself. "I'm on Earth."

"Where'd you think you were, Oban?" he laughed, and she smiled just to assure him she wasn't going crazy.

She didn't say anything, not wanting to give her thoughts a voice. Alwas, actually, she thought sadly. The breeze greeted her as she climbed out of the vintage blue hover-car, and she brushed her hair out of her face. There had been a breeze in her dream, too, just as realistic. She just wished she could have never left.

"Come on, slow poke!" her dad called—he was already walking towards the stadium.

Eva ran to catch up, locking arms with him when she did. When they got to the stadium they saw that the rest of the Earth team had already taken their seats. They waved her and Don over, where they too took their seats. It was a perfect day to watch a race—the sun was shining, the breeze was blowing, and the star-racers were sparkling. Eva watched excitedly they rolled out the beautiful, sparkling racers.

"Hey, Eva, look who they brought." Stan tapped her on the arm.

Reluctantly pulling her gaze away from the beautiful star-racers she followed Stan's finger and founded herself looking at the guest box. Not only was there the president, but a familiar alien was making his way into the box. The sight of the alien made Eva's entire body freeze.

It was Aikka.

She turned away while the rest of the audience was starting to look at the box. It was unusual to have guests—especially alien ones—at a race unless it was the interplanetaries. A whisper of 'that Nourasian boy' lazily drifted its way around the crowd, crashing into Eva's unwilling ears every once and a while. She tried to ignore them, but it was hard when the words were constantly being whispered around her.

"What happened between you two anyway, little mouse?" Rick asked, wrapping his big arms around the backs of the seats closest to him, one of which was Eva's. He nodded towards the guest box. "Weren't you two friends?"

"Not anymore," she grumbled under her breath. Unfortunately for her, Rick still heard.

"Then what happened?" he asked.

She didn't say anything. She didn't want to answer that. It had happened two years ago—she had put her past behind her. But the past had been clinging to her—the fact Aikka was within sight only made it more unwilling to dispatch.

"Look who's caught the eyes of prince charming," Rick said with a smirk.

Against her own common sense Eva looked. He was looking directly at her! When their eyes met Aikka's eyes widened, a red glow coming over his copper skin. How had he been able to spot her? Then she realized she hadn't changed much over the years. Sure, her hair was longer and she'd gotten taller, but the red dye that looked like someone had poured a bucket of paint over the top of her head was still there. The tattoos were still prominent as well. Of course he'd been able to spot her!

Aikka put on a smile and waved a little to her. How dare him! She "harrumphed" and turned away, sticking her chin up in the air snottily. He would not be able to reconcile that easily!

From up in the both Aikka furrowed his eyebrows. Well, it supposed it wouldn't be that easy to reconnect with his old friend, but he didn't expect her to react so negatively. He supposed humans were the type to hold grudges.

"Prince Aikka, please, sit over here," said the president.

He took his seat next to the president, taking a long look at the track. It was much different than tracks in Nourasia, the flat rock circling around a round patch of grass. On Nourasia, races would be held in the woods, among the trees and animals. Such a different world he had traveled to…

The prince found the race very enjoyable. The only star-racers he had seen were the Earth teams, and those had gone through the stages of depletion. And he would never say it to the Earth teams' mechanics faces, but the star-racers on the track were most beautiful, indeed, shining in the sun like the Nourasian Luzami, a beautiful gem that shined even brighter than emerald, an Earth gem he had heard about in his studies.

He was so fixated on the race Aikka did not even notice Eva, who was completely distracted from the race. Her arms were crossed, a pout on her full lips. Why did it have to be _him_ that was one of the pilots for the race? She daydreamed vaguely that he had volunteered, just to come back and taunt her and torture her with harsh words. But there was a part of her that believed he was good and told her that he wasn't there to taunt her. She hoped the latter was true.

"You alright?" Rick asked, who had noticed her glaring long before but had decided not to bring it up before then. "You're not going to watch the race?"

"No," she grumbled. "I'm going to go."

"Where are you going?" Rick asked as she stood up, grabbing her wrist and looking worried—well, as worried as he could with thick sunglasses on.

"Just for some fresh air," she lied, and yanked her wrist out of his grip. "I won't be long, I promise Rick."

And with that she slipped past Rick and into the aisle. She decided to slide down the railing and jumped off at the end, walking past the rows of screaming fans. She put her hands in her pant pockets and started walking out of the stadium; away from the noise. Once out from under the shelter of the stadium she found a nice place in the shade where she could lean against the back of the stadium. Eva took out her headphones, put on some music, closed her eyes, and began tapping her feet to the beat of the blaring music. She needed escape.

Eva felt someone tapping her shoulder. Figuring it was her dad, Eva sighed and slipped her headphones around her neck, pausing the music. "Yeah?"

But it wasn't her dad. It was Aikka.

Her eyes widened. "Uh…."

"I'm sorry, you probably thought I was someone else," he said, and backed up a few steps.

Hit the nail right on the head, pretty boy, she thought bitterly. Eva crossed her arms. If there had ever been any friendship between the two, it would've been hard to spot by an outside source. The prince looked straight ahead at his former friend like she was his opponent on the course once again. But he dissolved the minute she spoke.

"So? You're here—talk."

"Uh...uh...Uh," he spluttered, but suddenly a whiney voice cut across him.

"Oh look, isn't it little Eva Wei. What are _you_ doing talking to the Nourasian _prince_?" The boy was snooty, looking almost like an Earthling girl. It was hard to tell if his ego was supported or not, though.

"None of your business, Hugo," she hissed.

"I am her friend," Aikka said proudly, stepping in front of her.

The boy's eyes grew wide, but then his face contorted into narrowed eyes and a smirk. "How much did you pay him to tell anyone who asked that?" he laughed, putting his hands in his pockets.

"I'm sorry, but I cannot tolerate you speaking to my friend this way. And if you wish to ask questions about me, I request you talk to _me_. After all, they are about myself and I am much closer—much more within hearing distance."

The boy—he thought he heard him being called 'Hugo' by Eva—narrowed his eyes once again. "Fine. What are you doing with someone as lame as Eva? She can't possibly be your friend."

"He's—" Eva tried to interrupt.

"We have been friends for a few years, actually," he said. Well, it was one way to try and win back her friendship. "She even came to Nourasia."

A look of extreme displeasure came across Hugo's face. But then he looked over Aikka's shoulder and saw the uncomfortable look Eva had on her face. So, he decided to ask the best question. "So…are you going to compete in the race, then?" Hugo asked.

"She doesn't know about—" Aikka began.

"The Contract of the Peoples Race, right?" Eva asked. "Definitely not."

All blood left Aikka's face. So…this was his last time seeing her? If she was not competing then surely he would never see her again. His eyes widened as he turned back to her. What?

"Too scared to compete against your prince?" Hugo laughed.

"No, I just don't want to—"

"Oh, I see how it is. You don't want to get beaten horribly by your little prince, do you? You're not that great of a racer, anyway, so I can see why—"

"I am great racer!" Eva shouted, storming past Aikka and right up to Hugo.

"Then _prove it_, little Eva."

Aikka watched her fingers curl into a fist, her knuckles turning white. Eva bit her lip, unsure of what to say. It was either refuse and look like a wimp in front of her biggest competition, or agree and have to see her former friend every day. Neither option looked very appealing.

"Fine. I'll enter the race," she hissed.

Hugo smiled. "Good. I'll see you from the top of the leader board, _loser_." With that Hugo left, whistling a happy little tune with his hands in his pockets as he did.

Eva spun on her heels to glare at Aikka. "This is all your fault!" she yelled. "Why did you have to tell him that?"

"It was not in my conscience's best judgment to stand back and watch someone be humiliated in front of me."

"Oh yeah, sure. _Now_ you care about me. Whatever." Eva started walking away, putting her headphones back on.

"Wait, Molly!"

"It's Eva!"

Aikka sighed and admitted defeat. He had made even more mistakes. Looking at his feet, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had been so excited to see her; to finally try and make amends. But it appeared Eva wasn't one to let go of past conflicts. Aikka watched her retreating figure longingly. She had gotten so beautiful too….

"Prince Aikka!"

He turned around—it was the President. He was beckoning for Aikka to join him. "We are about to make the announcement of the race!" he said.

Taking one last long look at Eva, he rushed to join the president. Another day. It would have to be another day that he would make amends.

Eva watched the retreating figure of Aikka over her shoulder. Two years she had gone without seeing him, and he made her feel all those feelings he had made her feel on Oban in less than half an hour. Why did he have to go and get so handsome? He had gotten taller—much, much taller. Before on Oban he had been around her height, and even when she had seen him after the race, he was only an inch or two taller. He was now close to a foot taller than her. She sighed and pressed play on her music player.

"See you on the racetrack, Aikka," she whispered before walking back into the stadium.

**So, how'd you guys like it? The race is about to begin, and the tensions are already high! Get ready to see some familiar characters in the upcoming chapters as well, so stay tuned for that! :3**


	5. Chapter 4

**Alrighty then. Here we go: chapter four. My longest chapter yet! I was really happy writing this, I must say. The things are starting to come together, so I hope you enjoy it! ^_^**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Oban Star Racers. **

**CHAPTER 4: Races of the Rainiest Kind **

A wet cacophony of rain pummeled onto the concrete of the track. Everyone, although covered by the stadium's gray haven, still had big multi-colored ponchos on, the wind only making matters worse as the rain flooded into their souls. In short, it was miserable for everyone.

Two weeks before was when they had been told of the upcoming Contract of the Peoples race. Two weeks they'd been given to prepare. Every pilot wanted to participate. The racers were brought out, shined, oiled; made to look and perform their best. Eva, not wanting to look like a fool in front of her adversary, worked all throughout the nights for that race. Koji and Stan were brought in and together they created a mechanic masterpiece. She had added her own design embellishments as they worked to create the best racer possible. It was decided she would use a rocket-seat as the pilot controls, as she knew them best. Although Don Wei wasn't too keen on her entering the race, she refused to listen.

So there they were. It was the first race out of forty that would take place—80 competitors in all. She didn't know who this first race was going to be against, only that it was a human against a Nourasian. All of the races in the first round would be like that. In the race, it wouldn't be like on Oban, where you could do whatever except kill to win. There would be no weapons allowed. So no enchanted arrows for the Nourasians, and no guns for the humans.

"When's the race going to start?" she shouted in her dad's ear, the rain deafening her voice.

"It should be soon!" he shouted back.

Eva pulled her poncho over her head more, her hair nearing the drenched state. The chances of her getting a cold were starting to climb.

"Today!" the announcer screamed over the intercom. "Today is a great day! This day will mark the beginning of the Contract of the Peoples Race, a friendly competition between the humans and our new allies, the Nourasians!"

The announcer was barely audible over the shrieking of the rain, but message was carried across the entire stadium. Soon they saw the coming of the Star Racer and the giant beetle making its way onto the track. This was going to be a difficult race. While the pilot of the star racer was sheltered by the cockpit, the Nourasian had no way of protecting themselves.

…or so she thought. At a closer look she saw that the Pilot of the giant beetle had been encompassed in a large half sphere. They could see out, and the rain would be kept at bay. It had the Nourasian symbol in red glowing lines, and the entire thing was strapped around the beetle. She only wondered if it was going to stay on.

"Today we have a race against Jake Miller from Earth and to start off the race, Prince Aikka from Nourasia!"

Her stomach nearly dropped as the crowds cheered. He was going to start off the race? It made sense, since he was the Prince, the 'ribbon cutter' for special occasions. Too bad he was against the best of the best. While Rick and later Drew had been the champion of the Minor Leagues, Jake Miller was the champion of the _big leagues_.

"That prince is going to get squished, along with his little bug," Eva faintly heard the person next to her say to his friend.

She turned to the boy and said without thinking, "Hey! Prince Aikka is a great racer! Jake is the one who should be worried!"

The minute the words left her mouth she regretted saying them. Well…that was stupid move, she thought, and mentally slapped herself. She was supposed to be angry at him! Eva shook her head as the boy looked at her funnily.

"Oh, yeah, and how do you know?" he demanded, crossing his poncho-ed arms.

Eva opened her mouth to retort her own words but at that moment the announcer started talking. "Take your places racers. And let's start the countdown!"

Aikka closed his eyes as he listened to the sound of the heavy rain on the top of the shelter. It was made of heavy plastic, something he didn't have on his planet, but he'd enchanted it so he would be able to at least somewhat see. Through his bubble and through the cacophony rain he heard someone speak. It was obviously a countdown, although the numbers were unfamiliar to him.

10

9

8

7

6

5

G'dar raised himself into the air. Aikka still had his eyes closed, and he himself was crouched down, watching for the race to begin.

4

3

2

1.

GO!

His eyes burst open. It was unnecessary to urge G'dar forward—he had already taken off down the track, the common starting word familiar. The rain beat down on G'dar's shell and the plastic shelter, but his enchantment was working. He was able to see through the rain and follow the track.

The first jolt came only seconds after starting. Aikka slid a bit but regained his balance, and started looking around. It had been the earth pilot! Through the rain he could just barely see the cockpit of the star ship. The pilot was smirking.

He raced forward, even more determined now. So, this pilot wanted to play rough? Your wish is my command, little earthling. A smirk found its way onto the prince's lips as he urged G'dar to go forward. He gladly complied and they found themselves in the lead.

The earth pilot noticed the blue bug speeding forward and glared. Oh, this Nourasian brat was getting on his nerves. He had met the prince the night before, and immediately had taken a disliking to him. Acting as if he was better than everyone! Jake did not care if the alien was a prince or not—he was going to take him down, no matter what it took!

As if connected by an elastic band it seemed one could not get much farther ahead than the other. The earth pilot sped forward, but then the Nourasian would catch up and surpass him. This happened around the entire length of the track. They just could not beat the other.

"Tough race!" Rick shouted in Eva's ear.

"Yeah!" she agreed. It most certainly was. "Who do you think is going to win?"

Rick turned to her, a smile barely visible behind the poncho. "I'm voting for the Nourasian!" he said.

Eva felt her cheeks grow hot. She turned away as to hide her tomato face, pulling the poncho around her face a little more. It didn't matter to her who won. On Oban she had always been rooting for him, no matter who he was against…well, unless it was herself. But that was different. When he had been against spirit, Grooor, or anybody else in the pre-selections she had been rooting for him. But now was different. He had lost her friendship and her trust, and therefore her wanting for him to win anything. She couldn't care less.

Down in the battle on the track, the emotions that were running high weren't unlike the ones in the stands. But they were for different reasons. Aikka was completely focused on beating his opponent. He glared at the man he was racing, who in turn glared back. This was no 'bit of friendly competition' anymore. It was war.

Aikka had decided to trust humans. Then a man had betrayed him. Although Molly was still his friend in his mind, male humans were a different matter.

Jake had decided before the race to trust the Nourasians, although against his beliefs. But then a certain spoiled prince had come into his life, ruining his hopes for friendly competition.

"What is with this human?" Aikka asked himself as he dodged yet another attempt made at his life.

The earth pilot was trying to ram into him. But each time Aikka managed to either dive under the belly of the racer or fly over, and the earth pilot each time almost ran himself into the stadium. If only his enchanted arrows were allowed, this would not keep happening. But no weapons. They had all agreed to that.

Or so he thought. In his racer Jake Miller took one hand off of the controls and reached into his back pocket. He brought out a small gun and rested it on his lap. His hatred for Nourasians was deeper than what could be figured out at first glance, but he despised delving into the dangerous territory of his memories. He hated losing himself, which frequently happened when these memories were brought up.

"You're going down, pretty boy," he hissed to himself.

Last lap of the race. It was now or never.

"Jake, you got to take it calm here," his manager said into his earpiece. "This boy's known to pull out some last minute stunts."

He sneered. "Don't worry, I have a couple tricks up my sleeve as well," he said.

Jake disabled the communication with the press of a few buttons and his manager spluttered away. Then overrode the controls so he could open the cockpit while still moving. As the cockpit slid open he found himself pummeled with wet tears, but he pulled out his goggles and managed to put them on while still keeping his temporary place in the lead.

He looked over at the blue beetle, which was now making its way up to meet Jake. He cocked the gun and pointed it at the Nourasian, his eyes distorted with rage.

Now or never.

Aikka heard the bullet racing towards him before he saw it. He looked over at the cockpit of the star racer to see it open, the pilot holding some sort of black, hand machinery. The small lead bullet shattered the top half of the plastic dome, and imbedded itself into G'dar's shell. Aikka looked around, eyes wide. The pilot had shot something at him!

"Hang on, G'dar!" he told his mount as the beetle started raging.

Weapons were supposed to be prohibited! He screamed in his mind, casting a quick gaze over to the Earth Pilot. The war-ridden rain made it difficult for him to see, but he could clearly see the rage that was coursing through that man's veins. It was pure hatred.

"Please, stop this!" he yelled, but his words were lost to the storm.

Another shot was fired. Aikka tried to dodge it, but dodging something so small on something so big was a feat Aikka could not accomplish. The bullet dug itself into G'dar's shell, and he went thrashing around, shrieking and shrieking. His pain was too much for Aikka to bear—this was his partner, being harmed by a cheat.

But he did not know how to help. Shouting at the earthling had only made him angrier. Leaving G'dar to go deal with the human would result in injuries for everyone. There were no options that would leave everyone standing unharmed, or at least no more harmed than they already were. Aikka cursed himself under his breath.

So he kept G'dar moving towards the finish line. They were nearing the last turn. He focused on that with all his might, his heart aching as he ignored G'dar's shrieks and squeals. Aikka managed to get ahead of the earth pilot and his ship on the last turn, and the nearer they got, the closer the finish line became visible. He ignored his soaking clothes, the pounding of the rain, and the screams of his friend. He had to win this. That was the only option.

"You jerk, come back here!" Jake yelled, firing several shots that, due to his shaking arm, missed their target completely.

Aikka sped forward, but the speed was becoming too much for G'dar. His shrieks and screams got louder and louder until he could not do it anymore.

The beetle's wings snapped open to slow himself down…and they crashed right into the star-ship. Aikka was thrown around his saddle, unable to control the raging beast. The earth pilot, meanwhile, was trying to dodge the beetle, which had opened its wings right in front of his star-ship, promptly crashed into it, and flown forward yet again.

"Dammit!" he screamed.

He slammed the controls forward, and he rammed straight right into the beetle. It was comparable to a bug being splattered onto a windshield, but by comparison this bug was much larger than normal size. Jake continued to ram himself forward before realizing that the beetle would cross the finish line first in this position. He gritted his teeth and spun his racer in a 360.

G'dar spun off the star racer, its rider now unconscious. The beetle feared for his master's life, and instantly forgot about his wounds, springing his wings open. He was riding right above the stadium, the frightened crowd looking above at the underside of the beetle.

He raced forward, determined to give his master a victory. The flying hunk of metal came closer and closer, and finally he surpassed it. The end was coming near, he could see it!

"I'm not going to be beat by a stupid _bug_!" Jake screamed.

The earth pilot rammed into the beetle yet again, this time ramming it to the side. But G'dar quickly recovered and advanced on the metal lump yet again. The beetle slammed into the side of the metal, sending it flying. They played bumper-cars while the unconscious Nourasian was thrown about inside the broken dome, unable to make a decision on where he was thrown.

_You do not hurt my master_! The beetle slammed into the racer as hard as he could, and the racer went sprawling backwards.

The end had come.

The second the beetle had crossed the wide red line he hammered himself into the ground, bouncing as he skidded. The resulting inertia threw the rider up into the air and through the hole that the gun had created. He flew out of the beetle's safety.

The race was over.

Still, minutes after the race was concluded the stadium stood silent, the only noise the angry ones of both the beetle and the rain. Eva looked wide-eyed onto the scene. The star-racer had been send sprawling into the circle of grass in the middle, only yards from the finish line. It was smoking, only parts of it in flame. She had seen the prince fly into the air, and was almost certain he was dead. Her eyes had been locked on him the last corner of the race—she knew he was unconscious at best.

She forgot all past conflicts.

"Eva, where are you going?" her dad yelled as she raced down the steps of the stands.

Rick Thunderbolt stopped his former manager. Although Don Wei could not see his eyes behind the sunglasses, he was giving the man a serious look. "Let her go. This is for the two of them to figure out," he said. Don Wei nodded solemnly, and Rick turned back to the running figure. "Good luck, little mouse."

Eva ran as fast she could down those steps. She let herself get soaked; the hood of her poncho had long left its owner. She was operating no longer by her thoughts but by her emotions. It no longer matter that he had destroyed her. All that mattered was that Aikka was down there, possibly dead.

"I'm sorry ma'am, we cannot let you past here," said a guard, holding his arm out to block her entrance onto the track.

She glared at the man. "I need to go down there right now!" she screamed, yet the guard shook his head.

"No can do. Now, if you would please step back…."

She had no time for this! Narrowing her eyes to the rain, Eva slipped under the arm of the man and bolted towards the beetle and its former passenger.

"Hey, hey!" she heard the guard shout behind her.

Coming up on the Nourasian, she saw blood everywhere. Her stomach lurched, but one look back at the fuming guard told her she needed to keep moving. Eva fell down besides the injured prince, the medical crew doing all they could to keep the prince alive.

"Aikka," she whispered, reaching her fingers out towards his cheek.

But a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her up; up, away from the prince. She screamed. "No, no! I have to stay by his side!" she shrieked, thrashing her limbs as hard as she could.

"Stop it you little brat," growled the guard.

"No, no!"

Trashing still, she heard someone call out into the rain.

"Let her go—she's distracting me!" yelled a medical agent, who was streaming past them with bandages and some type of ointment.

Eva thrashed her way out of the man's grip, and was by the Prince's side once more. "Oh, come on, please make it," she whispered, and grabbed his hand.

It did not matter that he had stopped being her friend long ago. Her actions of that fateful day had been made out of brash and hurt feelings. Underneath all that Eva still felt the same way she had felt at Oban. Her prince was a friend, a trustworthy friend. She could not lose him to a stupid race. No, they had been through too much for that to happen.

Her fingers made their way to his, and soon she was clasping them for dear life. The shouts and screams of the medical staff were muted, her only focus the prince. He looked so…dead. His normally copper skin had faded to a sickly shade of its former glory, and the prince was clearly in pain. His eyebrows were furrowed, his lips turned downwards in a pained frown.

"I'm so sorry," she said, but it was more to herself than him. "I should have listened to you…"

"M-molly?"

Eva's eyes looked up. His eyes were open! She gasped, clutching to his fingers even more. "You're awake!" she cried.

"Molly, I am also sorry," he whispered. Rain pummeled onto his face; it looked like he was crying. "I should not have gotten so angry at you…."

She did not contradict him; she did not speak at all. Her crimson eyes were glued on his topaz ones, and tears were starting to emerge. Bringing his hand up, she pressed it against her cheek. It was so cold compared to her warm flesh. Did this mean he was dying? No, he was talking…but….

"Do not fear, Molly," he told her, as if reading her mind. "I shall be alright. I am a Nourasian Knight."

His words brought a small smile to her face.

"Come out, out of the way girly," said a member of the medical staff, pushing her out of the way so they could load Aikka onto a stretcher.

She was pushed onto the concrete, but only let herself grace the person with a glare before standing up and going once again to her friend's side. They put the stretcher onto a gurney, and the entire time Eva held Aikka's hand while they rolled it into the infirmary that was right off the track. She watched as he slipped out and in of consciousness, squeezing his hand he did so. Eva couldn't let him die on her.

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but you'll have to go now," another woman said, tugging her hand away from him.

Looking dumbstruck at the woman, she let her hand be taken away. "Why?"

"He's going to be taken into emergency care right now, and they're getting ready to perform surgery."

Her eyes widened. "What? Why? Why does he need surgery?" she demanded.

"Don't worry." The woman put her hand on Eva's shoulder. "He's going to be alright. Go meet up with your family or something."

And the woman left, rushing into the infirmary. Eva was left in the rain. Her hair was now completely soaked, and the rain had snuck its way under the poncho and was now attacking her clothes. But she didn't do anything. She just stood there. She hoped whatever surgery they were going to be doing would save his life. But surgery on a Nourasian…she seriously hoped they had some Nourasian doctors on hand.

"Eva."

She turned around, and there was her dad, along with Rick and the two mechanics. Her dad put her hood up for her, although it was no use. It didn't matter anymore.

"Come on, we can wait in the stands."

The rain eventually died down, coming to only a mist. Long after everyone else had left Eva and the rest of the earth team (sans Jordan, of course) were left in the stands. They said nothing—nothing needed to be said. No one wanted to ask why Eva suddenly cared for Aikka—no one really cared. They all knew that if the Nourasian Prince died, not only would Eva be heartbroken, but there was an entire planet waiting for him. A prince, dead on another planet's soil because one of that planet's citizens? The treaty would immediately become invalid.

"Should we go check on him?" Rick finally spoke up. It had been little over an hour.

"They'll call us when it's time," Don Wei assured him.

Another hour passed. By this time, Eva was starting to feel hot. Hotter than usual. She put the back of her hand to her forehead, and found it scorching. She felt weak, and her nose was starting to run. She had been out in that rain so long, it was obvious she had come down with something. But Eva kept it to herself.

"That's it, I'm tired of waiting," Rick burst out, standing up. "I'm going to check on that little Prince Charming, whether they let me in or not."

Eva quickly followed suit, with Don spluttering in the background about 'disregarding the infirmary's policy'. But it was obvious the infirmary had forgotten about the Prince's human visitors. The group made its way down to the infirmary, where two guards stood. Rick came up to the doors, but the guards instantly stopped him.

"Hey, I'm trying to see little Prince Charming, so let me through." Rick crossed his arms.

"Only Nourasians are allowed to visit," said one guard.

"I'm his friend," Eva said, speaking up from behind Rick. She felt slightly dizzy, but she steadied herself by taking Rick's arm.

They looked at her with raised, unbelieving eyebrows. "Oh, are you? Well, I'm the King's best friend. I advise him all the time," one said, and they laughed heartily.

Her eyes narrowed. "You don't believe me? Well, alright then. Believe this." She rolled up her sleeves and stuck out her left wrist. The guards looked to one another and then came forward to look at the strange symbol on her wrist.

It was the royal symbol. Imprinted into the skin of royal visitor on arrival to the Holy City of Dol, it never left, unless, of course, they betrayed the Holy City's rules and then the symbol would burn itself off of the skin of the owner. She had done everything she could to get it off…well, almost everything. She had refused to burn her own skin off, and therefore the symbol stayed.

"Fine. You're allowed in," one of the guards said begrudgingly.

The doors were opened and she marched straight on through. But when her friends tried to gain passage, they did not meet with such good fate as she did.

"No symbol, no way," said one of the guards.

"Go on, little mouse. We'll be out here," Rick said, bringing two fingers to his forehead and then flicking them towards her.

She gave two thumbs up and a cheeky smile, then turned around. The smile instantly left. She was soon surrounded in darkness, the doors having been closed behind her. Her breathing quickened; she could hear her heart in her ears. Walking forward, she took careful, tip-toe like steps. Soon she came across voices, and a light source. Eva's heart quickened, and instinct led her to press herself up against the wall to listen in.

"We should not go through with this race," she heard someone say.

"But we promised we would. It's a part of the treaty."

"Treaty, Yoshi? I don't think that's valid when one of the competitors almost _kills the Prince_."

"Please, think rationally, my friend. One bad egg cannot spoil an entire batch, Malron. Perhaps the fame had gotten to this boy's head."

Malron scoffed, and a few more voices joined in.

"Malron's right," someone agreed. "These humans are not to be trusted."

"Why make a treaty in the first place if they were going to break it in the first race?" another said.

"Exactly. That one was acting on his own accord," Yoshi said.

"_Ahem_."

They all turned towards the girl. Eva stepped out of the shadows, revealing herself. At first the Nourasians were confused by the figure covered in the nearly see-through yellow fabric. Then she pulled her hood back, revealing her head in full. Yoshi and Malron looked from one another. The girl had long black hair with a splatter of red on top, and her tattoos were quite distracting indeed. She looked familiar, although none of them had seen her before. But one thing was obvious.

She was a human.

"Sorry, couldn't help but overhear and—" she began, but was cut off by Malron.

"What are you doing here? Only Nourasians are allowed in here," he hissed, reaching for the dagger that was tucked in his belt.

In response Eva rolled up her sleeves again and showed the suspicious Nourasians the symbol. They, like the guards had done, looked from one another when they saw it. They leaned forward, and their eyes widened when they saw that the girl had the Nourasian Royal Symbol. Malron was confused beyond all belief, but for Yoshi, things were starting to click. That red splash seemed to grow more familiar by the second...

"You wouldn't have to be…Molly, would you?" Yoshi asked tentatively.

She nodded. "That's me." she said.

"We can't trust this girl!" Malron told his fellow Nourasians. "This…_human_. She could have forged the symbol for all we know!"

"You want to test that little theory out?" Eva suggested, raising an eyebrow.

Malron looked to Yoshi, who just shrugged. It was up to him, then. Coming forward, the Nourasian knight held up his palm. It was covered in all sorts of ceremonial tattoos and symbols. Each of his fingers had a small royal symbol on it, while his palm had turned into an assortment swirls.

Once his palm started to come closer to Eva's symbol, it started glowing a blue not unlike Aikka's enchanted arrows. He looked at her with wide eyes. She simply smiled, basking in the glory of her success. Malron coughed and stepped back.

"Alright. It seems she is a friend of Nourasia. But what is your business with the prince then?" he asked, clasping his hands behind his back.

Eva was reluctant to answer. What should she introduce herself as? Aikka's friend? Aikka's ex-friend? She shifted her weight a little bit and looked at the ground. Luckily Yoshi noticed the girl's reluctance and stepped in before Malron could.

"She is the winner of the Race of Oban; I believe she can do what she wishes," he said, and stepped over by her side. "I will escort her to the prince."

Before Malron or any of the others could protest Yoshi took the girl's wrist and dragged her down the hall. Once out the hearing of his fellow Knights Yoshi let go of the girl and let walk beside him. He turned to her to know of her side of story, but she seemed unwilling to bring up the topic herself.

"You and the Prince are no longer friends." It wasn't a question, but instead a statement.

She nodded. "He…well, we both said some harsh words," she said, looking at the ground. She started twiddling with her thumbs to entertain herself, and to give her somewhere else to look besides the knight.

"I guess this visit means you are willing to forgive him?" he suggested.

Contrary to his belief, the girl shook her head. "No. Not yet, at least. Maybe sometime, but…I'm still hurt. He cast me aside when he was having trouble. I don't think it was that, though. It's just…he didn't go to me for help, I suppose," she said, and she laughed a bit. "I guess I was just being silly."

Yoshi hadn't really expected her to explain so much, so he had to pause for a moment to get his thoughts together.

"Well…," he finally said. "The Prince does still care about you very much, Lady Molly. He regrets his decisions every day and—"

"I think I can explain my own actions sufficiently," they heard a voice say.

Eva's voice caught in her throat. Stepping out of the shadows was a very disgruntled-looking Aikka. His shirt was off, but his chest was nearly completely bandaged, the bandages stained with red in places. He had his arms crossed, and was glaring at Yoshi.

"Of course, your highness. I will excuse myself now," he said, and Yoshi bowed, rushing away into the shadows.

Silence came over them. She knew Aikka's eyes were on her, but she refused to look up. She kept her eyes on her thumbs, twiddling with them.

"You know, you used to look me in the eye," Aikka said.

No movement.

"I'm sorry if we can't return to what we were right now, but I am positive you will forgive me one day," he said when she did not speak. "I wait anxiously for that day. Now, if you excuse me, I think I hear the nurses calling."

Aikka bowed as best as he could with his injuries and turned on his heels, also fading into the shadows. This left Eva alone.

_He was aliv_e. Aikka was alive

"Oh god, I thought you had died," she whispered to herself. Her knees suddenly became weak, and she fell to the ground, her legs unable to bear the weight. She stared straight into the darkness, as if she could burn a hole through it that would find Aikka.

He was alive.

That's when the tears started coming, and the sickness started to take over. She fainted in a matter of minutes, and stayed there, collapsed on the floor until Yoshi and Malron found her, ten minutes later.

"Aikka's alive," she told them, and faded off into sleep.

**END**

**How'd you like it? Suspenseful, right? :3 Well, things are about to get interesting from this point on, so I hope you guys like it! It might take me a little bit longer to upload the next chapter because I want to make it good (look forward for some FLUFF. My inner Mokka fan is going 'finalllyyy' :P) So, again, I hope you guys liked it and stayed tuned for the next chapter. Make sure to review, I love hearing from you guys!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Alrighty then! Here we go-chapter 5! I didn't expect for it to take t****his long to write, but hey! I got it up! I hope you guys like it and make sure to review! ^_^**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Oban Star Racers**

**Chapter 5:**

"Your Highness, please. We cannot keep participating in this race. I will not allow any more of our knights to be injured by these wretched humans!" Malron shouted.

Aikka sighed. This had been going on for the past half an hour. The minute he woke again Malron had barged into the medical room, screaming about the humans and their "disrespect" and their "lying tendencies." Yoshi had then sauntered into the room, immediately rebutting Malron's claims. Aikka had joined in when their arguments had gotten out of hand.

"I saw the look on that human's face, Malron. He was acting out something much deeper than what you think," Aikka said calmly.

"See?" Yoshi said, smiling.

"Prince Aikka, I swore my life to you. But I did not swear my life to a treaty that may as well be broken if another gets hurt!"

His eyes narrowed. "So you fear for _your own_ life," he suggested.

Malron stepped back, his face turning a bright shade of tomato. "P-Prince!" he yelled, and slammed a hand onto his chest. "I am simply stating I am here to protect you, not baby sit a bunch of irresponsible humans!"

One part of his claims had caught his attention more than the rest of it. "Protect me?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Protect me from what?"

Instantly Malron noticed his mistake. His eyes widened, and he quickly looked to Yoshi for help. But Yoshi simply shook his head, as if to say 'you got yourself into this mess'. Malron turned back to Aikka and cleared his throat. "The humans, of course. There may be a few that are unhappy with the treaty that may have plans to take your life."

A small smile flitted across the Nourasian Prince's lips. "You never were any good at lying, I must say," he said.

If possible, Malron's eyes widened to a point where his eyes before had seemed the size of a button compared to a giant beetle. "Prince, I am not—"

"Please," he said gently, trying to make his eyes look as soft as possible. "I wish to know the truth only today, Malron."

XXxxXXxxXXxxXX

The morning after the race brought pain to Eva. Quite literally. She woke up with a fever of 101.7 degrees, a bad cough, and a runny nose. Needless to say, her overprotective father wrapped her in three blankets, gave her the biggest bottle of water she had ever seen, and made her stick tissues in her nose to clog the running.

It was miserable.

"Hey there, little mouse," said Rick, sauntering into the living room and giving her hair a ruffle.

"Hi Rick," she said, her words inflated, as her nose was still plugged, tissues or no tissues. "What are you doing here?"

"Visiting my favorite little racer, of course," he said with a smile, sitting in the chair across from her and her mountain of blankets.

"At this rate, she won't be able to race." Don Wei walked into the living room, looking at a small piece of paper soberly. "Look at this."

He handed Eva the piece of paper, which she managed to take by wriggling her hand out of the mass of fluff and taking it in between two fingers. She rested it on the blankets, looking at it eagerly. Her face fell the minute she saw it. "What is this?" she asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"The lineup for the race. It seems they've decided to go on with it, after all," he said, and sat in the chair in-between Rick and Molly.

"And…?" she asked, holding it up and pointing to a line that had her name on it.

"Right. That's you," he said, nodding solemnly.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Rick asked.

Don took the piece of paper out of his daughter's hands and passed it to Rick. Rick only had to look at Eva's name, then look at the date to realize what the matter was. "Your race is today," he whispered.

Silence fell over the three of them. Eva looked to the two men. Rick had his eyebrows furrowed and was staring at the piece of paper. Her dad was looking at the ground, his hands clasped in front of him. There was no way her dad was going to let her race, she knew that. Yet…she had to! Her mind conjured up images of Hugo laughing wildly as the announcer announced she wasn't there to race. Eva's face contorted into an expression of pain. Ugh. She would never be able to show her face to the racing public.

"Eva, I know what you're thinking," her dad said, snapping her out of her delusions.

"What?" she asked.

"You can't go," he said, confirming her fears.

"But Dad-!"  
"I am not going to risk your safety for a race, Eva," he said. One look into his eyes told her everything. This was more than just the race. 'Safety'. It had come to mean much more for him that it had ever before. She knew he was also thinking about her mother's crash. Eva looked past his eyes and into his soul—he was serious.

"I understand," she said.

Don Wei let out a deep sigh. He had expected her to protest—to shout and scream out how it wasn't fair. That had been her reaction when he had told her that she wasn't allowed to race until she turned 18. But it seemed Eva understood. Her body was weak, and the race had become more dangerous than anyone thought it would become.

"Thank you," he said, and stood up to kiss her forehead.

He walked out the room, leaving Eva and Rick alone. Eva waited until she was sure her father was completely out of hearing, and jumped forward onto the floor, the bundle of blankets still surrounding her. She jumped at Rick's feet, startling him.

"Rick," she said in her most icing covered, nose-plugged voice.

"Sorry, no can do, little mouse," he laughed, leaning back in his chair. He knew exactly what she was thinking.

Not giving up, Eva batted her eyelashes at the ex-pilot. "Please?" she begged.

"And have your father kill me if he ever found out?" he raised an eyebrow.

"He doesn't have to know! Besides, you can tell him it was all my fault if he does!" she said.

Eva suddenly elapsed into a coughing fit, but once out of it she cleared her throat and looked up at Rick again, putting a smile on. She wasn't about to lose this war. Rick looked more reluctant than ever to agree.

"Please? Come on, you need a little adventure in your life!"

At this comment Rick cracked a little smile. "Alright, little mouse. You get your wish. But remember—if we get in trouble, I'm blaming it all on you."

Her face lit up like the fourth of July.

XXxxXXxxXX

It had been decided: the race would continue as planned. Aikka had finally convinced Malron to change his mind, although it did come with a price—Aikka would be flanked by him and Yoshi the entire day, just to make sure there were no attempts on his life. With his new knowledge about his newly gained adversary, he had figured it would be the best for him.

Compared to the previous day, it was bright and sunny. The sun looked like the legendary Nourasian Golden Beetle, something never seen by a Nourasian's eyes, and only resided in myths. It shined brighter than anything else in the universe, according to legend. Aikka was starting to doubt that legend. The star that shined over Earth seemed brighter than even the great Golden beetle.

Luckily for him, he was residing in the stands. He was in the guest booth again, as him and the Earth President had decided it would be best if the main ambassadors for their planets have 'special seats'. He watched the preparations for the first race of the day eagerly. It would be decided there would be two races that day, to take advantage of the nice weather. He watched as the star-racers were shined and oiled to perfection, the beetles polished so they shined like stars.

"Hopefully we shall have a better outcome of today's race, huh Prince Aikka?" the president asked, winking at him.

He simply smiled while the president laughed. Although his wounds had been majorly healed because of his race's natural fast-healing, he had overestimated Earth medicine. Even laughing would probably render him back to where he had started when he first got the injuries.

"I hope so too, Mr. President," he said.

The first race went smoothly, although it seemed the Nourasian rider had issues of his own with the Earth pilot. When Aikka realized this he sent a telepathic message to his fellow beetle-rider, saying 'please, for me, keep this a clean race'. The rider changed his tactics from then on, and managed to win the race with his speed.

"Well, that was good," said the president after the race, smiling. "Certainly very nice to watch—those bugs of yours certainly have some speed!"

He smiled, his ego bloating up for his own beetle. "Thank you, sir," he said, bowing very slightly.

Suddenly a human came running up the stairs, an upset look on his face and a phone pressed to his ear. "Yes, yes, of course. I understand. I'll tell them," he said, and brought the phone from his ear. Seeing the president, the man—boy, more like it—slammed his feet together and saluted for the man. "Sir, I bring some news."

"Yes, of course, what is it?" he asked, getting up out of his chair.

"It seems our next pilot is going to be a little late. They are suggesting a break time for this delay," he said.

The president nodded. "Hmm…I see. I was hoping for a back-to-back race, but I suppose a little concession break will do everyone some good," he said, and turned to Aikka with a smile. "Don't you think so, Prince?"

He nodded, not sure what a 'concession break' was. He would have to ask Yoshi later—he was obsessed with other cultures.

"Good, good. I'll go make the announcement."

The president walked off and the boy followed, leaving Aikka alone in the box. Well…not completely alone. He knew Malron was lurking in the shadows somewhere, he wasn't completely sure where. Peeking around his chair, he found no sign of him. "Malron?" he called out. "Come on out. I need to speak with you."

When he turned around, there was Malron, his hands clasped behind his back and a somber expression on his face. Aikka smiled.

"You called?" he asked.

"Yes. Uh…I know Yoshi would be better suited for this, but…what are concession breaks?" he asked.

Malron allowed himself a slight smile. "They are breaks where the audience can eat and drink, I believe," he said. "If you would like, we could—"

"No, I'd rather stay here," he assured his guardian.

"And…your highness? I thought you might like to know who the next racer is," he said, and unclasped his hands to give Aikka a small piece of paper.

It appeared to be the schedule for the races. He recognized most of his own on the paper, but then, reminding himself why Malron had given him the paper, his eyes wandered over to the Earth day's date. He skimmed past the first race couplet that had already happened, and saw the next racers.

Eva Wei.

His eyes widened. "Molly is…?" he asked, looking up.

"Molly?" Malron's eyebrows furrowed.

He shook his head. "I apologize. It was the name she used in the race. Eva, I mean," he corrected. "She's racing today?"

"It appears so."

Sliding down in his seat, he looked up to the top of the booth. He hadn't seen her race in forever….He had suggested she try racing the beetles on Nourasia, but she had stormed off before he got the chance to even show her how to ride them. The last time he had really seen her race was the last race on Oban, and that seemed eons ago.

"Prince?" he asked, worried to see his highness so relaxed. He had never seen him like this—he was usually all polite and…well, royal.

"I'm sorry," he apologized, giving the knight a small smile. "It appears I had drifted off into my memories." Aikka sat up, straightening his uniform. "Now…how about we go down and get some of these 'concessions' while we wait for the pilot to arrive?"

So the two of them went down the steps to get some of these so-called 'concessions', Aikka eager to taste some Earth food.

XXxxXXxxXXxx

"Hurry up, Rick! Can't you drive any faster?" she screamed, her voice muffled by the large scarf she had wrapped around her neck.

Eva had told her dad she was going out to visit the park, just to 'get some fresh air'. Of course, that had been a complete and total lie. Her and Rick sneaked out of the house after she had gotten everything ready and had called the mechanics to 'get their sorry butts over to the racetrack'. Quick to be on the road, Eva had completely forgotten about one important fact.

"Don't stress me out, little mouse," he growled, his hands gripping the steering wheel just a little harder. His arms were started to seize up.

"But we have to get there!" she yelled.

"Again, little mouse, don't stress me out. You know I've got problems," he told her.

A startling thought ran through Eva's mind. Right. She had been there on Earth when Rick had gotten a check-up. He wasn't supposed to be driving. Eva felt so stupid. How could she have forgotten about something as important as that? Coughs suddenly ransacked her, just like they'd been doing all day. Rick looked at her pitifully from the rear-view mirror and regretted his words.

"I know, you're sick, so don't hold it too close," he told her.

"Just focus on the road," she said gruffly, her words muffled just enough Rick had to strain to hear her. Eva crossed her arms and looked out the window, still upset at herself. That had been a very stupid move.

"Hey, it's alright, really, you—"

"I know I'm sick, alright, Rick?" she said, but unfortunately the serious tone of her voice was ruined by the fact that her nose was still plugged, giving her a nasally voice. "It still doesn't erase the fact that I was being stupid."

She remembered the crash. She remembered both crashes. Her mother had died in a crash. Rick had almost suffered the same fate. Eva did not that want to happen to either of them. She curled up in a little ball in her seat, looking out at the passing traffic. Stupid move.

"We're here," Rick announced after a few minutes of complete silence.

All previous concerns were swept from her mind. Perking up, Eva jumped out of the car and started running to the hangar. There was no time to worry about her wrong-doings. Now was the time to race.

She practically leapt into the hangar, seeing Koji and Stan frantically run around her new Star-Racer like madmen, checking every single detail. "Is everything set to go?" she asked, running up to them.

Koji looked at her funnily. "What's wrong with your voice? And why are you wearing a scarf? It's almost ninety degrees out!" he said, checking his board and making a few adjustments.

Right. They didn't know she was sick. "Uh…nothing," she assured him, only to be harassed yet again by small coughs. She was nearly dying from the heat underneath the scarf and heavy coat, but she had to deal with it.

"Are you sick?" Stan asked as he ran past, looking up and down at her.

"No," she said quickly…a little too quickly.

Raising an eyebrow at her, Koji didn't dispute. He simply made a few more adjustments, one including the placement of his glasses on his nose. Finally he turned to her and gave her a big thumbs up. "We are all ready to go," he said.

"And the president has been informed," Rick said, coming up behind her.

She smiled. "Alright then." She turned to Koji. "Can I get in?"

"Why not?" he shrugged.

Smiling brighter than ever, her illness seemed to almost disappear at the thought of racing again. She hopped into the cockpit and secured herself, looking at the controls. They had graphed a rocket-seat into the racer, but had done a much better job than she had done back on Oban. It was a bit bigger than her old one; she had out-grown that one.

"How is it?" Koji asked her, his face popping up in a little box on the side of the glass.

She gave him two-thumbs up.

"Alright. You better get going out right now, so I'll raise the hangar doors," he said, and his face blinked out.

She breathed deeply, closing her eyes. This was it. Time to prove herself. Eva heard the hangar doors groan and light flooded into the hangar, illuminating the darkness. Slowly she felt her temperature rising again, her breath quickening. Adrenaline had kept her going until then, but now she felt weak, like a great weight was pushing down on her. Slipping her glove off, she pressed her cool hand to her forehead. She instantly took it off. It was burning.

"Alright, take it easy Eva," Koji said. "You're clear."

She raised the star-racer and slowly made her way out of the hangar. Sunlight instantly attacked her, striking at her weakness points. And on the goggles went. She strapped them onto her eyes and squinted to be able to see the race-track. Perfect. The tinted lenses made it so the track appeared a little pink, but she was able to ignore the glare of the sun on the racetrack a little.

Okay. She could do this. Looking to her right, she spotted her Nourasian opponent. He was decorated with tattoos, and looked a more serious than she had ever seen a Nourasian look. The Nourasian knight locked eyes with her, and he glared. Eva, on the other hand….

She was really too ill to care about him.

XXxxXXxx

Aikka had quickly found that the strange earth food called "popcorn" had become his favorite earth food. Small corn kernels somehow popped open to create these strange shapes, and yet so delicious. It was truly a mystery.

He popped another one in his mouth as him and Malron made their way back to the guest box leisurely, sauntering through the staring crowd blissfully ignorant of the stares. Aikka could care less about these people—it was just him and his popcorn. Smiling a little, he popped another kernel in his mouth. Ahh…so delicious….

"And I could like to introduce our competitors for the day!" the announcer screamed.

He perked up. Eva was racing now! Trying to look at princely as possible while running, he made his way towards the guest box, running up the stairs and into his seat. The president was already there, smiling profusely. "I believe this race is definitely in the hands of this girl," he whispered to his bodyguard, unaware of Aikka's presence.

But for once Aikka had to agree with the man. "She certainly is a magnificent racer," he agreed, waltzing over to his seat.

The president flushed. "Oh, I did not realize you were there, Prince Aikka," he stuttered.

He smiled. "It is truly alright. Besides, it _will _be hard to beat the winner of Oban, will it not?" he asked, and winked. He had been informed before arrival on Earth that none but the earth team and the president knew about the race. But Aikka could afford tease the president just a little.

The president frowned. "Yes, I suppose so," he said, turning back to the race with a serious expression on his face, as if contemplating the Nourasian's words.

Aikka inwardly shrugged. Well, it appeared that the President of Earth was not to be teased. He too turned to the race, watching the two racers line up at the start line. He spotted Eva in her star racer, wearing the odd attire of a heavy scarf and her goggles. Why was she wearing such heavy clothing in such hot weather? He leaned forward as if it would give him a better look, which it didn't.

"Would you like to use these?" the president offered.

He looked over. The President was offering him some sort of strange black object. Aikka stared at it with suspicious eyes, but the president urged them into his hands. For a few moments he just stared at the strange object. What was he supposed to do with them?  
"Look through the small part," the president told him.

Doing as he was told, Aikka raised the smaller end of the object to his eyes, and to his utter surprise, everything was magnified! He took them from his eyes, and everything went back to normal. What was his magic? He wondered if someone the earthlings had learned to use magic.

"They're binoculars," the president explained. "They magnify anything you're looking at when you look through them.

Eyes wide with curiosity, Aikka once again pressed his eyes against them. The racetrack went in and out of focus a few times before becoming clear. He searched until the binoculars came to rest on Eva's star-racer. With the magnitude of the binoculars, he could easily spot out what was wrong. Eva was shaking, and breathing hard. This was most unlike her. To his knowledge, Eva never got nervous. She didn't seem like the type.

He saw her bring her arm to her forehead and wipe away sweat. Well, of course she was sweating—she was wearing layers upon layers of clothing! Then he saw her lean forward, breathing even more heavily than ever. Eva coughed many times, and held her throat when she was done. Was…she sick? He did not know anything of Earth's illnesses, so he could not see.

"Sir?" he asked, turning to the president. "What kind of sicknesses is there that make a human cough a lot?"

The president frowned at the peculiar question, but decided to answer. "Lots. Most common are colds and fevers, I suppose."

"And…what are those two?"

"The cold is viral infection of the nose and respiratory systems. Fever is practically a really high body temperature," he explained, his eyes still on the race. It appeared the Nourasian's beetle was acting up, the temperature over-heating it. The race would be delayed for a few more minutes. The president supposed he could spare a few facts about Earth illnesses.

"Would you usually wear lots of clothing if you had either of these sicknesses?"

"To sweat it out, I suppose. Now, Prince Aikka, why are you so interested in Earth sicknesses all of a sudden?" the president asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

Aikka hesitated. "I think the Earth racer is sick, sir," he said, and gave the binoculars back to the president. "She's wearing lots of clothing, is sweating, and coughing. I think it's possible she is sick."

The president waved the binoculars away. "Nonsense. That would be stupid. She is still a child—her father would never let her participate in a race with an illness."

The Prince hoped he was right. He put the binoculars in his lap, looking back out at the racetrack worriedly. A pilot trying to race with an illness…it was a sure recipe for disaster. But there was really nothing he could do. Even if he tried to go down and convince her not to race, he knew she was refuse no matter what. He sat back in his seat. He would just have to wait and see.

XXxxXXxxXX

She grasped the handles. The fever was slowly consuming her. No…she had to fight it. She just had to. Forfeit the race and be laughed at by Hugo for all eternity? No way. Eva wiped the sweat away. Why didn't they just start the freaking race? The rider's beetle had gotten overheated by the sun and had to be cooled down before the race could start. Stupid beetle….

"And now, are you ready to begin the race?" the announcer screamed.

The audience roared. Eva looked to her right again and saw the beetle walking up besides, its rider just as serious as the last time she saw him. When the rider looked at her she altered the bow and instead gave a slight nod in place of it. He nodded back.

"Now, let's start the countdown, folks!"

The audience roared along with the announcer as the countdown started. Eva breathed deeply, trying to ignore the pounding in her head.

10

9

8

7

6

5

In sync the star-racer and the giant beetle rose.

4

3

2

1

Game time.

**xxXXxxXXxx**

**CLIFFHANGER! :3 I just wanted to do that. So, how'd you like the chapter? It did go by kinda quick, but hey, I thought it was fine (but then again, I'm the author...) I'm excited to start writing the next chapter (once I know how to start it) because we're going to have a little "flashback" of Aikka trying out concession snacks :3 OOOH, and just because I'm such a spoiler and I can't keep it in, Spirit is going to make an appearence :D And we're also going to be finding out who Aikka's mysterious new adversary is...**

**MWAAHAHAHAHAHA**

**I'm done. **


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